﻿169 
  

  

  ON 
  THE 
  AUSTRALIAN 
  FERN 
  WEEVILS. 
  

  

  By 
  Guy 
  A. 
  K. 
  Marshall, 
  C.M.G., 
  D.Sc. 
  

  

  (Plates 
  VI-VIII.) 
  

  

  The 
  weevil, 
  Syagrius 
  fulvitarsis, 
  Pasc, 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  for 
  some 
  time 
  as 
  an 
  enemy 
  

   of 
  ferns, 
  Mr. 
  W. 
  W. 
  Froggatt 
  having 
  found 
  it 
  abundantly 
  attacking 
  ferns 
  both 
  in 
  

   greenhouses 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  in 
  the 
  Botanic 
  Gardens 
  at 
  Sydney. 
  

  

  In 
  1902 
  another 
  species, 
  S. 
  intrndens, 
  Waterh., 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  doing 
  serious 
  

   damage 
  to 
  greenhouse 
  ferns 
  in 
  the 
  Royal 
  Botanic 
  Gardens, 
  Dublin, 
  and 
  Prof. 
  G. 
  H. 
  

   Carpenter 
  recorded 
  that 
  in 
  1912 
  it 
  had 
  actually 
  established 
  itself 
  and 
  was 
  breeding 
  in 
  

   the 
  open 
  (Econ. 
  Proc. 
  R. 
  Dublin 
  Soc, 
  ii, 
  no. 
  6, 
  Aug. 
  1913). 
  There 
  can 
  be 
  little 
  doubt 
  

   that 
  this 
  species 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  introduced 
  from 
  Australia, 
  but 
  its 
  original 
  home 
  

   has 
  not 
  yet 
  been 
  ascertained, 
  and 
  Dublin 
  remains 
  as 
  the 
  only 
  locality 
  from 
  which 
  it 
  

   has 
  been 
  recorded. 
  

  

  In 
  1904 
  yet 
  another 
  species 
  belonging 
  to 
  a 
  different 
  genus, 
  Neosyagrius 
  cordipennis, 
  

   was 
  described 
  by 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  M. 
  Lea, 
  the 
  insect 
  having 
  been 
  found 
  by 
  Mr. 
  W. 
  W. 
  Froggatt 
  

   damaging 
  maidenhair 
  ferns 
  in 
  the 
  Botanic 
  Gardens 
  at 
  Sydney. 
  

  

  Since 
  about 
  1905 
  Syagrius 
  fulvitarsis 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  occur 
  in 
  the 
  Hawaiian 
  

   Islands 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Honolulu, 
  but 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  attracted 
  any 
  

   special 
  attention 
  until 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years, 
  when 
  it 
  has 
  begun 
  to 
  spread 
  to 
  a 
  somewhat 
  

   disquieting 
  extent 
  and 
  has 
  started 
  to 
  attack 
  the 
  fern 
  forests, 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  which 
  

   might 
  seriously 
  affect 
  the 
  water 
  supply. 
  As 
  the 
  attempts 
  to 
  control 
  it 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  

   altogether 
  satisfactory, 
  the 
  Hawaiian 
  Sugar 
  Planters' 
  Experiment 
  Station 
  arranged 
  

   to 
  send 
  Mr. 
  C. 
  E. 
  Pemberton 
  to 
  New 
  South 
  Wales 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  discover 
  and 
  bring 
  

   back 
  parasites 
  of 
  the 
  weevil, 
  a 
  task 
  which 
  he 
  has 
  successfully 
  accomplished. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Pemberton 
  also 
  brought 
  back 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  weevils 
  found 
  attacking 
  wild 
  

   ferns, 
  and 
  these 
  have 
  been 
  kindly 
  submitted 
  to 
  me 
  by 
  Mr. 
  F. 
  Muir 
  for 
  identification. 
  

   The 
  material, 
  upon 
  examination, 
  proved 
  to 
  comprise 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  seven 
  different 
  

   species, 
  namely, 
  Syagrius 
  fulvitarsis 
  and 
  four 
  "undescribed 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  genus, 
  and 
  

   two 
  new 
  species 
  of 
  Neosyagrius 
  ; 
  neither 
  S. 
  intrudens 
  nor 
  iV. 
  cordipennis 
  was 
  repre- 
  

   sented. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  new 
  species 
  of 
  Syagrius, 
  represented 
  by 
  a 
  single 
  specimen, 
  is 
  not 
  

   dealt 
  with 
  here 
  because 
  examples 
  of 
  it 
  have 
  already 
  been 
  submitted 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Pemberton 
  

   to 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  M. 
  Lea, 
  who 
  proposes 
  to 
  describe 
  it. 
  

  

  The 
  types 
  of 
  the 
  new 
  species 
  will 
  be 
  deposited 
  in 
  the 
  British 
  Museum, 
  and 
  in 
  those 
  

   cases 
  in 
  which 
  there 
  is 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  specimen 
  there 
  are 
  cotypes 
  in 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  

   the 
  Hawaiian 
  Sugar 
  Planters' 
  Experiment 
  Station. 
  

  

  Key 
  to 
  the 
  Species 
  of 
  Syagrius, 
  Pasc. 
  

  

  1 
  (4). 
  Interval 
  3 
  of 
  elytra 
  with 
  a 
  rounded 
  granular 
  tubercle 
  at 
  a 
  little 
  distance 
  from 
  

  

  the 
  base. 
  

  

  2 
  (3). 
  Funicle 
  with 
  joint 
  2 
  much 
  longer 
  than 
  1 
  ; 
  dorsal 
  outline 
  of 
  pronotum 
  almost 
  

  

  straight 
  (apart 
  from 
  the 
  median 
  tubercles), 
  but 
  sloping 
  markedly 
  upwards 
  in 
  

   front 
  ; 
  tubercles 
  on 
  etytra 
  high 
  and 
  well 
  marked, 
  the 
  intervals 
  on 
  the 
  inflexed 
  

   margins 
  without 
  granules 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  fulvitarsis, 
  Pasc. 
  

  

  3 
  (2). 
  Funicle 
  with 
  the 
  two 
  basal 
  joints 
  subequal 
  ; 
  dorsal 
  outline 
  of 
  pronotum 
  

  

  markedly 
  convex 
  ; 
  tubercles 
  on 
  elytra 
  low 
  and 
  mostly 
  ill-defined, 
  the 
  lateral 
  

   intervals 
  with 
  flattened 
  shiny 
  granules 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  intrudens, 
  Waterh. 
  

  

  4 
  (1). 
  Interval 
  3 
  of 
  elytra 
  with 
  a 
  large 
  elongate 
  granular 
  tubercle 
  that 
  extends 
  right 
  

  

  up 
  to 
  the 
  base. 
  

  

  